英美文学选读完整笔记全面归纳

Chapter I The Ren aissa nee Period 一、 学习目的和要求

通过本章学习，了解文艺复兴运动和人文主义思潮产生的历史，

文化背景，认识该时期

了解该时

文学创作的基本特征和基本主张， 及其对同时代及后世英国文学乃至文化的影响； 释，读懂所选作品，了解其思想内容和写作特色，培养理解和 欣赏文学作品的能力。 二、 考核要求

（一）文艺复兴时期概述

1. 识记：（1）文艺复兴时期的界定

（2）历史文化背景

2. 领会：（1）文艺复兴运动的意义与影响

（2） 文艺复兴时期的文学特点 （3） 人文主义的主张及对文学的影响

3. 应用：文艺复兴，人文主义及玄学诗等名词的解释 Brief In troduct ion to the Ren aissa nee Period I. 应用

Defin iti ons of the Literary Terms:

1. The Ren aissa nee: The Ren aissa nee marks a tran siti on from the medieval to the moder n world. Gen erally, it refers to the period betwee n the 14th & 17th cen turies. It first started in Italy, with the floweri ng of pain ti ng, sculpture & literature. From Italy the moveme nt went to embrace the rest of Europe. The Ren aissa nee, which means \\

by a series of historical even ts, such as the re-discovery of an cie nt Roma n & Greek culture, the new discoveries in geography & astrology, the religious reformatio n & the econo mic expa nsion. The Ren aissa nee, therefore, in esse nee is a historical period in which the Europea n huma nist thin kers & scholars made attempts to get rid of those old feudalist ideas in medieval Europe, to in troduce new ideas that expressed the in terests of the rising bourgeoisie, & to recover the purity of the early church from the corrupti on of the Roma n Catholic Church.

2. Huma ni sm: Huma nism is the esse nee of the Ren aissa nee. It spra ng from the en deavor to restore a medieval reverence for the ancient authors and is freque ntly take n as the begi nning of the Ren aissa nee on its con scious, in tellectual side, for the Greek and Roma n civilizati on was based on such a con cepti on that man is the measure of all thin gs. Through the new lear ning, huma ni sts not only saw the arts of sple ndor and en lighte nment, but the huma n values represe nted in the works. Ren aissa nee huma ni sts found in the classics a justificati on to exalt huma n n ature and came to see that huma n beings were glorious creatures capable of in dividual developme nt in the direct ion of perfecti ons, and that the world they in habited was theirs not to despise but to questi on, explore,

and enjoy. Thus, by emphasiz ing the dig nity of huma n beings and the importa nee of the prese nt life, they voiced their beliefs that man did not on ly have the right to enjoy the beauty of this life, but had the ability to perfect himself and to perform wonders. Thomas More, Christopher Marlowe and William Shakespeare are the best represe ntatives of the En glish huma ni sts.

3. Spen seria n sta nza:

Spen seria n sta nza was inven ted by Edmund Spen ser. It is a sta nza of nine lin es, with the first eight lines in iambic pen tameter & the last line in iambic hexameter, rhy ming ababbebce.

4. Metaphysical poetry: The term \

期重要作家的文学生涯，创作思想，艺术特色及其代表作品的主题结构，人物刻画，语言风 格，思想意义等；同时结合注

writers who wrote un der the in flue nee of Joh n Donne. With a rebellious spirit, the metaphysical poets tried to break away from the conventional fashion of the Elizabethan love poetry. The dict ion is simple as compared with that of the Elizabetha n or the Neoclassic periods, and echoes the words and cade nces of com mon speech. The imagery in draw n from the actual life. The form is freque ntly that of an argume nt with the poet's beloved, with God, or with himself.

5. The Ren aissa nee her A Ren aissa nee hero refers to one created by Christopher Marlowe in his drama. Such a hero is always individualistic and full of ambition, facing bravely the challenge from both gods and men. He embodies Marlowe's huma ni stic ides of huma n dig nity and capacity. Different from the tragic hero in medieval plays, who seeks the way to heave n through salvati on

and god's will, he is aga inst conven ti onal morality and con trives to obta in heave n on earth through his own efforts. With the en dless aspirati on for power, kno wledge, and glory, the hero in terprets the true Ren aissa nee spirit. Both Tamburla ine and Faustus are typical in possess ing such a spirit. （二） 该时期的重要作家

1. 一般识记：重要作家的文学生涯 2. 识记：重要作品及主要内容 3.

造，语言风格， 艺术手法，社会意义等。

4. 应用：（1）莎士比亚和邓恩诗歌的主题，意象

（2） 喜剧《威尼斯商人》的主题和主要人物性格分析 （3） 哈姆雷特的性格分析

（4） 史诗《失乐园》的结构，人物性格，语言特点等的分析

I. Edm und Spen ser 1. 一般识记

Brief In troduct ion to the Author

English poet， born in London, England, about 1552,and died in London, Jan 13, 1599. 2. 识记 His Major Works

Spen ser's most importa nt work & masterpiece is The Faerie Quee ne, a great poem of its age. A complex moral, religious, & political allegory, it is also an epic that exalts Queen Elizabeth

领会：重要作家的创作思想，

艺术特色及其代表作品的主题结构， 人物塑

I &

the En glish n ati on. Accord ing to Spen ser's own expla natio n, his prin cipal inten ti on is to prese nt through a \poem\Its prin cipal hero is the Arthur of medieval lege nd. The six books of the poem illustrate the n ature of particular virtues, such as, tempera nee & justice. Other major works of Spenser are The Shepheardes Calender（1579）, a poem consisting of 12 eclogues-corresp onding to the 12 mon ths of the year; Epithalam ion （1595）, a poem express ing the deep personal feelings occasioned by the poets second marriage; Amoretti （1595）, a series of sonn ets. 3. 领会 His In flue nee

1） Main qualities of Spen ser's poetry ① a perfect melody ② a rare sense of beauty ③ a sple ndid imagi nati on

④ a lofty moral purity & serious ness

⑤ a dedicated idealism

2) In his writing, Spenser drew on the conventions & thought of Classical, medieval, & Ren aissa nee literature. However, he added to his fusi on of these diverse eleme nts much that was origi nal, & his works in spired many later En glish poets. He created a new sta nza, called the Spen seria n sta nza, which is well suited to n arrative verse. His skills in writi ng melodious En glish verse & his comb in ati on of emoti on, eruditi on, & spiritual visi on have won him the admirati on of gen eratio ns of En glish poets. It is his idealism, his love of beauty, &his exquisite melody that make him known as \4. 应用

The Faerie Quee ne:

1) It is a long, allegorical poem .In the poem, Spen ser dramatized political, religious, & moral themes by pers onifying them, or making them characters.

2) Plot: The story, which is set aga inst a backgro und of Arthur & medieval lege nd, deals with the adve ntures of six kni ghts of the court of the fairy quee n n amed Gloria na, who represe nts Quee n Elizabeth I of English.

The faerie Queen was left unfinished at Spenser's death. It was originally planned as a 12-book poem. But only 6 books were completed. The poem is particularly admired for the melodic beauty of its Ianguage & for its rich content of philosophical & mythological material prese nted in the form of vivid n arratives. II. Christopher Marlowe 1. 一般识记 Brief In troduct ion

En glish dramatist & poet,bor n in Can terbury, En gla nd, Feb, 6,1567, died in Deptford, En gla nd, May 30, 1593. Marlowe was the first great En glish Dramatist. He brought to the En glish stage a new concept of tragedy, one in which the drama centers around the struggles of a man overwhelmed by his passi ons & ambiti ons. 2. 识记 His Major Works

His most famous tragedies are Doctor Faustus, The Jew of Malta, Tamburlaine & Edward n . In his plays, Marlowe used bla nk verse, which he molded into a superb in strume nt for express ing intense emoti ons. After his developme nt of bla nk verse it became the sta ndard medium for En glish dramatic & epic poetry. His non-dramatic poetry in cludes Hero & Lea nder, \

Marlowe's Doctor Faustus (about 1589), gen erally con sidered his best play, was based on a real Dr. Faustus, who was later associated with a medieval lege nd of a man sell ing his soul to the devil. The play's dominant moral is human rather than religious. It celebrates the human passion for kno wledge, power & happ in ess; it also reveals man's frustratio n in realiz ing the high aspirati ons in a hostile moral order. The last scene, in which Faustus confronts his doom, brillia ntly ren ders the fear & agony of a condemned man.

The Jew of Malta (about 1589) illustrates Marlowe's outsta nding portrayal of character. Its hero, Barabas the Jew, served as the model for Shylock in Shakespeare's The Mercha nt of Venice. In about 1592. Marlowe wrote one of the first successful En glish historical dramas, Edward n。 It is his most dramatically mature play & exhibits his mastery of characterization, stage craft & rhetoric.

Tamburla ine is a play about an ambitious & pitiless Tartar conq ueror in the fourtee nth cen tury who rose from a shepherd to an overpoweri ng King. By depict ing a great hero with high ambiti on & sheer brutal force in conq ueri ng one en emy after ano ther, Marlowe voiced the supreme desire of the man of the Ren aissa nee for infin ite power & authority. 3. 领会 His Achieveme nts & In flue nee